Air Conditioning Failure

[scaesare]

Tried my A/C for the first time this year, only to have it blowing warm air. No warning indicators during driving. When I put it in park, the "dog mode" dialog box said it couldn't be enabled because of a fault. So the car is aware something is wrong.

Left the door open with the system on, no condenser fans running, louvers are closed, and I don't believe the compressor is running.

When I get a chance I'm going to pull cowling and check fuses.

Anybody else seen similar?

 

[MP3Mike]

The fuse for the AC compressor is in the DC-DC converter, and is a common thing to go out. They aren't that expensive but are sort of a pain to replace.

Here is a thread about it: DC - DC converter / AC compressor repair

 

[mongo]

It might also be a good old fashioned leak and the car is reacting to a low pressure reading.

 

[MP3Mike]

It might also be a good old fashioned leak and the car is reacting to a low pressure reading.

Yep, and it could be a locked up compressor as well. I would hope, but I don't think they do, Tesla would put up an notification about low refrigerant pressure. It's sad that the only place you get a notification is dog mode for HVAC failures like this.

 

[scaesare]

Yeah, planning to put my guage on the refrigerant line to see what it says.

Thanks for the lead on the DC-DC fuse thread... I'll peruse... wondering if the gih voltage fuse for the compressor would prevent the louvers from operating, and the condenser fans from running which I believe are all 12V. The cabin blower motor fans ramp up, so some of the 12V side of the system is working...

 

[scaesare]

Ha... i actually posted on that DC-DC thread 18 months ago... must be getting forgetful...

 

[mikegre]

Driving today, 90 degrees, and the AC while working was blowing maybe 5% air volume through the vents. Got home, sat in the driver's seat and with the doors and windows closed, went to the security screen and did a power off. Sat in the (hot) car for 3 minutes, stepped on the brake to wake the car, and lo and behold, the AC worked perfectly.

 

[houstonian]

Another thread that may prove useful:

Model S(2017)75D Air conditioning not working cause battery temperature

 

[scaesare]

So I tackled this today.

 

[Choochoosparky]

I just got my car back last week for no air conditioning. Fan was blowing hard and strong, but no cool air. Turns out some relays had burned up, the fan had shorted out and also burned up the plug to the harness. Thankfully it still fell under warranty, but I dont want to think of how much it would have cost out of warranty. But no DC-DC convertor issue....yet....

 

[SemiS3XYR]

my 2015 model s A/C has been just blowing normal temp air for about 1.5 weeks. SC can't get me in ASAP and I will be over 2 weeks of waiting. This terribly sucks in the NE heat wave too.

Just spoke to SC rep and they said remote diagnostics says you need a battery coolant pump?

This is going to be like a $500 PLUS fix for sure!

 

[SemiS3XYR]

Just got mine back a few days ago. The Passenger side ac compressor failed. Was leaking refrigerant. $1,300 fix after tax. Sucks they even charged me a $200 diagnostics! Even worse is there is a driver side ac compressor so that is two points of possible ac compressive failure. They are located behind the lower vents that open and close depending on the cars cooling needs. So dirt/grime build up or rocks can damage them.

 

[MP3Mike]

Just got mine back a few days ago. The Passenger side ac compressor failed. Was leaking refrigerant. $1,300 fix after tax. Sucks they even charged me a $200 diagnostics! Even worse is there is a driver side ac compressor so that is two points of possible ac compressive failure. They are located behind the lower vents that open and close depending on the cars cooling needs. So dirt/grime build up or rocks can damage them.

There is only one AC compressor. It sounds like it was one of the AC condensers that failed on you. (Yes there are two, one on each side.)

I wouldn't have expected that to cost $1,300, what was the breakdown of the costs? (Was it mostly labor?)

I likely would have opted to get them both replaced at the same time, which should save on costs significantly. (And likely increase cooling performance as they get damaged from road debris over time.) Some of Bjorn's videos on YouTube show what they look like after many miles.

 

[SemiS3XYR]

sorry yes, condensor. It was like $600 parts. $600 labor. Before tax.